Before you towers the Short Line Bridge, a weathered giant spanning the Mississippi. What tales could this steel sentinel tell, you wonder? The Short Line Bridge has been a silent witness to over a century of Minneapolis history. This bridge earned its name by providing a shorter, more direct route for the Milwaukee Road trains between St. Paul and Minneapolis. Before it was built, the journey was a winding affair. It forced trains to travel southwest along the river, adding precious time to the trip.
The Short Line Bridge, completed in 1880, was a marvel of engineering for its time. It not only carried the weight of trains but also accommodated the Selby Avenue streetcar line, showcasing the bustling urban life of the era. However, the bridge we see today is not the original structure. In 1902, it underwent a significant rebuild. The wooden piers were replaced with sturdy stone, and the entire framework was reinforced. This upgrade wasn’t driven by aesthetics but by necessity. The dawn of the 20th century saw heavier locomotives and larger freight cars, demanding a more robust bridge.
Though the last regularly scheduled passenger train rumbled across the Short Line Bridge in 1971, it still stands as a testament to a bygone era of rail travel. Despite its age, the bridge hasn’t been entirely forgotten. In 2005, there was a glimmer of hope that the Short Line Bridge might find new life as part of the Midtown Greenway, a rails-to-trails project. The vision was to incorporate the bridge as a pedestrian and bicycle pathway, connecting communities on both sides of the river. However, those hopes were dashed when CP Rail, the bridge’s owner, rejected the proposal, reluctant to mix train and bicycle traffic. For now, the Short Line Bridge rests, a quiet monument to the city’s industrial past.